Page:Natural History, Mollusca.djvu/191

a sight worth seeing. Care should be taken to keep them with their mouths downwards, and from the sun and light, or their brilliant colours will soon fade."[1]

WHELK.

I must not omit to mention also, the more homely, but at the same time, more useful Spindles and Whelks of our own shores. The former genus (Fusus) is remarkable for the size of its members. F. antiquus, the largest of British univalves, being frequently found six and occasionally seven inches in length. This shell is used by the inhabitants of the Shetland Isles as a lamp, suspended horizontally by a cord, the ample cavity being made to hold the oil, and the wick projecting from the canal. The